The Outreach Farm: Feeding the Hungry

For almost two decades, a local non-profit has been substantial in helping feed those in need along the Grand Strand. Founded in 2003, Michael “Mike” Luvollo, a retired cattle farmer from New England, moved to our rural area and quickly became aware of the protein deficiency, especially for local children. He acquired some volunteers and after they bought beef cattle, they used the meat to distribute to local organizations that specifically provide meals at no cost for the people of Georgetown, Horry, and surrounding counties.

The Outreach Farm eventually made the switch from raising cattle to buying frozen pro-cured meat (more than beef) in bulk from Sysco. Once a month, the board of volunteers delivers 18,000 servings of protein to the organizations they partner with. Their biggest need is raising more donation money so they can continue their mission. Currently, the Farm’s donations benefit over a dozen non-profits from residential homes, churches, and even a food truck that parks and distributes cooked meals around low-income neighborhoods.

For Thanksgiving, the organization usually provides turkeys from local providers, but due to inflation, they are looking into ham for this year. Although they rely heavily on monetary donations, the one time of year the organization needs hands-on volunteering is for their Mailbox Wreath Fundraiser. From Thanksgiving to December 10th, the wreaths need to be picked up from Callas Florist in Murrells Inlet (who creates the décor) and delivered to the houses of those who purchased a wreath in support of the Farm. The volunteer would have a specific route depending on how many wreaths they could take and then assemble the wreaths onto the mailboxes. (To volunteer, please call Phil Baldwin at 770-294-5148.)

The local nonprofits that are already in partnership with the Farm are All Saints Church, AMI Kids, Community Kitchen of Myrtle Beach, Community Lunch, Father Pat’s Lunch Kitchen, Food From the Father Ministry, Friendship Place, Hopewell Senior Day Care Center, Meals on Wheels of Horry and Georgetown County, Inc., No Boundaries International, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Shepherd of the Sea Lutheran, Shepard’s Table, Sonshine Recovery Ministries, Teen Challenge, The Village Group, and Waccamaw Youth Center.

If you know of any other entities that prepare and provide free meals to those in need, please fill out the form on the website under “contact” so they can be added to the list. One area in particular that heavily lacks protein nutrition and needs to be addressed is the highway corridor between Georgetown and Andrews and the surrounding areas. Please consider helping The Outreach Farm reach its yearly goal of providing over 200,000 meals so that the under-served people of our community can also continue to gather and gobble together.

For more information, please visit:
www.theoutreachfarm.org